Social Media Analysis Paper due 2/10

Social Media Critique and Analysis (100 points)
Working individually, students are required to research and analyze a company or brand’s use of social media. In 3-4 double-spaced pages (12 point times new roman font, 1 inch margins including references) students will craft a polished report that demonstrates their ability to understand a business’ use of social media for the following purposes:

Students must analyze the use of two of the following social media tools:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube

The best reports will be factual and analytical. There is no room for personal feelings or emotional response. Think of this report as the type of report created by a social media consultancy firm before a first meeting with a client. The goal is to assess where the client is in terms of their social media use while providing a sense of what the firm would/could do for them if they were to hire it. The report should include the following sections (TIP: Follow the sections below as an outline and write your report with the specific sections!)
Introduction: Introduce the company and what it is that they do and why social media is important to their business; HINT: Look at the industry they operate within as well as norms/standards for social media use in that industry. It may be useful for this section to search Business Source Premier, ABI Inform Global and Google for “social media and ______________” where blank is the name of your company/brand or industry. (1/2 page)
Overall summary of social media use: Briefly summarize the company’s history with social media and current use of social media along with the overall strategic focus from one or several of the above purposes; Can you identify who manages social media for the business (marketing department, outside social media advertising firm etc.) Are they using the different tools like Twitter, Instagram Pinterest etc in ways that are unique or duplicative? How are they leverage each tool for best effect/impression? (1/2 page)
Use of each listed tool (6): List how each tool is used; provide examples; infer the primary purpose from those listed above ( 1 page total)
Assessment and recommendations: Assess overall social media use. Make at least three recommendations based upon your assessment and research; HINT: Consider a Social Media SWOT analysis that looks at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the firm’s use of social media which might points towards recommendations. (1 page)
References: Demonstrate that you used appropriate materials to inform your understanding of the firm’s social media marketing (1/2 page)

This assignment is worth 100 points.
Papers that receive 90-100 points are classified as excellent and will be free of typos and grammatical errors and contain all elements listed above. They will be thoroughly researched and use credible industry and business press resources ( and have a full set of references (5 minimum.) Recommendations and assessment will be insightful and creative.
Papers graded 80-89 points are good. Typos and grammatical errors are minimal and all elements of above are included. They are researched and have some references. Recommendations and assessment are present and analysis is sound.
Papers graded 70-79 points or below reflect less than good work. Typos and grammatical errors are frequent. Elements above are missing. There is little evidence of research. Recommendations and assessment are not based upon analysis.
Presentation: 2/6 This assignment is worth 100 points.
There is also a short presentation (with or without visual aids) on your project due 2/10.